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For USC, what a difference a year and Lincoln Riley have made

LOS ANGELES — Monday marks one year since USC shook up the college football landscape and hired Lincoln Riley away from Oklahoma. And several times since then, from his introductory press conference to media day in July, the head coach was asked about his expectations for the program in Year 1.

The answer was always the same: He expected championships. It felt like good politicking, the right thing to say to win over fans at a school with 11 claimed national titles. But given the state of USC, coming off a 4-8 season with a historically bad defense, most would have been satisfied with more modest progress. A winning record, maybe even an appearance in the Pac-12 title game.

Instead, look at where USC is one year after Riley’s introduction.

USC is 11-1 after Saturday’s 38-27 win over No. 15 Notre Dame. Both the Jeweled Shillelagh and the Victory Bell are back in the Trojans’ hands. They’re ranked No. 4 in the AP poll. They’re headed to Las Vegas for the Pac-12 championship, with the chance to avenge the one loss to No. 12 Utah. A win there and they clinch USC’s first-ever trip to the College Football Playoff. Quarterback Caleb Williams is the favorite to win the Heisman Trophy.

“I can’t say like yes I knew this was going to happen,” Riley said Saturday. “But at the same time I don’t believe in putting limits on what you can accomplish, especially if you get the right people in the building and everybody decides to be unselfish and work hard for each other. And that’s what this group’s done.”

They’ve done so at Riley’s example. He attacked the job at hand from the moment he arrived, evaluating practices before USC’s 2021 season finale at Cal while simultaneously hosting high-profile recruits during those practices.

So when, immediately after that season-ending loss to Cal, Riley asked that his players begin workouts, he had the credibility to do so.

“I was like, ‘Damn, the season’s over,’ ” defensive captain Tuli Tuipulotu recalled. “But we knew it was going to happen if we kept working.”

Riley arrived at USC with the experience of three trips to the College Football Playoff as a head coach. The Trojan players knew this, which helped seniors like Andrew Vorhees, Brett Neilon and Nick Figueroa decide to come back for their extra year of NCAA eligibility after having a season affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

It’s one thing to know a coach’s resume, though. When Riley spoke to his new roster, his players also sensed his conviction.

“He came in with a mindset. The actions and the intent behind his words,” receiver Tahj Washington said. “You could feel the energy and how much belief he had in what he was saying. And when a person has belief in what they’re saying, it makes you believe it.”

That’s why, despite the influx of transfers who could compete for jobs, only one USC player left the program after spring practices. The Trojans had bought in after six weeks of practice and were ready to play for Riley and a staff that set high expectations and a plan to reach them.

Now they’re reaping the rewards, from the chance to win championships to a suddenly energized Coliseum crowd after all the empty seats in fourth quarters last year.

“No disrespect to our fans, but that’s the first time I’ve seen that much people in the stands, going crazy loud,” Tuipulotu said. “Throughout the whole game, too.”

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So while Riley might not have known the exact date USC would reach this point, he’s not surprised by the speed at which he reached his vision for this program.

“You guys know me, I stood right by and told you what our expectations were from Day 1. A lot of people thought I was crazy and that’s fine,” Riley said. “The people within the walls knew what we were about and I think had a sense of what we were building. It’s been a fun run.”

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